


Help Me Understand

by LovelyLittleGrim



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, Liam teaches Theo about being human, M/M, Post war by a few hours, struggling with feelings, time skip in chapter two
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 03:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15452265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/pseuds/LovelyLittleGrim
Summary: Theo just wants to get some sleep but Liam refuses to hand over his keys. The ordeal ends in a way that Theo could never have foresaw. It’s a learning experience for the both of them.





	Help Me Understand

Theo has been staring at the wall for the better half of an hour. His mind drifting in and out of consciousness. He’s thoroughly exhausted and it’s dragging him right to the brink of falling into a deep sleep. The only problem is that he’s not alone in his truck, he’s not even anywhere near his truck. Instead, his ass is parked on the edge of Scott McCall’s too soft couch. The cushion sinking beneath him, molding to his body. Theo hasn’t been on anything this comfortable in… he doesn’t even know how long, but the word _forever_ seems to fit nicely.

“Alright, that’s it for tonight,” Scott says, his voice sounding entirely too loud. “Head home, we’ll pick up on the plan tomorrow after we’ve all rested.”

Theo holds in a heavy sigh as he pushes himself up to his feet, one hand absently patting at his pocket for his truck keys as members of Scott's pack hurry past him for the door to leave. He finds his keys and tugs them free, his movements lethargic.

Theo wracks his brain for a place where he can park his truck for the remainder of the night. The hunters may have surrendered a couple hours ago but Theo wouldn’t put it past them to try and take him out while he’s on his own. It’s not like they hadn’t tried a few days prior, granted they failed, but Theo’s not really feeling up to pushing his own luck. Especially, not when he’s this worn down to the bone.

The cool metal of his keys is stolen from his hands. “Don’t think so.”

Blinking slowly, Theo turns to the thief. “Dunbar, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Saving the poor unsuspecting citizens of Beacon Hills from being run over by a half-asleep asshole,” Liam tells him as though it should have been painfully obvious.

“Funny,” Theo grunts out and swipes at Liam’s hand for his keys. “Hand over my keys.”

Liam takes a step back and it all just seems very fast to Theo. He hopes he doesn’t look like he’s moving in slow motion because its how he feels.

“Not happening, you’re practically asleep right now and you’re standing up,” Liam points out, moving farther out of Theo’s reach even though Theo has stopped reaching for him. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Then what?” Theo asks incredulously. “Walk all the way back to your house?”

Liam shrugs and glances over at Scott. “It should be safe now, right?”

Scott shakes his head. “We can’t know for sure, I don’t want you walking anywhere alone tonight just in case.”

“Alright,” Liam says and twists back around to face Theo. “Then, I’ll just crash at yours tonight.”

Theo does sigh now, just as heavily as he wanted to before. “What about your parents Liam, I’m sure they’re very worried about their only son.”

“They’re out of town,” Liam tells him. “I didn’t want them here while this happened, especially not after what happened to Ms. McCall. So, they won’t know if I’m home in my bed or crashing at your house on your couch.”

Theo rolls his eyes and turns around to head for the door. He’ll just break into his truck then, he’s too tired to argue any more. He’s running on zero sleep for what must be the 60th hour now maybe even more than that. He’s not sure anymore. “ _You can’t because I don’t have one.”_

Theo opens the front door and slips out without waiting for a response, he shuts the door a little harder than strictly necessary, but nothing cracks so he brushes it from his thoughts. The air is surprisingly cool for the tail end of summer, or maybe it had just been stiflingly hot inside the house beneath the heat of all the questions and Liam’s too bright eyes.

The door behind him is only closed for a moment before it opens again, and Liam joins him on the porch, keys jangling merrily in his hand.

“You don’t have a couch?” Liam says sounding somewhat surprised.

“Don’t have a house either,” Theo murmurs because why not? Maybe, Liam will finally hand over his keys without Theo having to punch him a few times.

It’s silent behind him. For a moment Theo thinks that Liam has slipped back inside the house without his notice. With a glance over his shoulder, Theo sees that Liam is, indeed, still standing right behind him. His blue eyes look confused, his lips pursing in thought. “What do you have then?”

Theo stares at him for a long time before lifting a ten-ton hand and pointing towards the driveway. “I have a truck.” And then because he can’t help being an asshole, he adds. “Which you are currently holding hostage.”

He hopes Liam feels terrible and hands over the keys now.

“Wait…” Liam says slowly, and Theo can see all the little pieces finally clicking together in Liam’s mind. The little werewolf isn’t stupid, not by any means, Theo just thinks maybe the thought had never occurred to him, so the pieces weren’t visible to him before now. “You live in your truck?”

Theo doesn’t know what to make of the tone of Liam’s voice. It’s somewhere between insulted and horrified with maybe a dash of incredulity added into the mix. Theo almost finds it funny, he’s always been a firm believer of only feeling one emotion at a time, but Liam is showing him that that’s not true at all.

“Yes, so can I _please_ have the keys back now,” Theo says, his own voice taking on a scathing tone. “I’d like to get some sleep.”

Liam’s mouth clicks closed, his blue eyes are wide. Theo feels like Liam is trying to stare into his soul. He’s surprised by how unsettled he feels by the notion that Liam might not find one there inside him to look at.

Theo makes a noise of frustration as the seconds' tick by and nothing happens. “Liam—"

“No,” Liam says suddenly cutting Theo off.

“No?” The word doesn’t make any sense to Theo. It’s only two letters long and yet Theo is dumbfounded by its existence. 

“Yeah,” Liam nods his head and Theo watches as his fingers squeeze even tighter around the keys in his hand as though he’s worried Theo is going to try and steal them away again. “I said no.”

A small growl slips from Theo unbidden as he stares Liam down. He’s too tired to deal with this shit tonight. “Look, I’m not going to go on a killing spree. I’m just going to go the fuck to sleep.”

Liam doesn’t deign to say anything back, instead the little shit darts past Theo towards the truck at the end of the driveway. Theo hears the telltale sounds of the locks springing up as Liam circles around to the driver’s side and then pulls open the door.

_Is Liam stealing his fucking truck?_

There’s the click of a seatbelt being buckled in and the electronic buzz of the seat being moved forward a little so that Liam can reach the peddles comfortably.

_Seriously? Is this actually happening right now?_

The truck's engine roars to life breaking through the otherwise quiet night. It seems too loud in the darkness, but Theo is more concerned with Liam hijacking Theo’s only means of survival.

_Theo should have let the prick get shot._

The passenger window rolls down and Liam leans towards it to yell at Theo. “Come on you asshole, get in the truck.”

 _The audacity,_ Theo thinks as he stares at Liam. He’s torn between being infuriated and being almost impressed by the gall.

“Are you seriously telling me to get into my own fucking truck, right now?” Theo says from his spot on the porch. He’s going to listen, they both know this, but he’s not going to be pleasant about it by any means.

Liam rolls his eyes. “Dude, come on, it’s late and I wanna go to sleep, just get in the damn car already.”

The door opens behind Theo a second time, but it doesn’t close. Theo fights the urge to turn around, the very thought of having his back to an alpha makes the hair on his body stand on end.

Scott’s voice calls out, loud enough for Theo to know that he’s solely addressing Liam when he speaks. “Everything okay out here?”

Liam’s head bobs through the open window, an easy-going smile forming on his face. “We’re good, just heading home once Theo’s slow ass gets in the car.”

There’s a long pause from behind Theo, the slow sound of breathing and then there’s a quiet murmur of. “Be careful.”

Theo’s not entirely sure who that was for or what it was for. It didn’t sound like a warning to watch out for hunters, but he’s too tired to come up with any other plausible explanations for it. Maybe, it was a warning for Liam against Theo? Or a threat for Theo to watch his step?

The front door closes, and Theo finally turns to look behind him. All he sees in the familiar dark wood and the ornate knocker just beneath the peephole, but he feels even more uneasy than before.

“Theo,” Liam growls out in frustration. “I’m going to steal your car if you don’t come on.”

“Shut up,” Theo grunts and steps off the porch. It takes more energy than Theo wants to admit to using just to get into the truck and buckle up, but he manages.

Liam puts the truck in reverse and steadily backs it out of the driveway. He’s not doing a bad job, but Theo still snaps out. “Crash my truck and I’ll end you, Dunbar.”

“You couldn’t even end a fly right now, Raeken,” Liam says back snippily, his eyes flicking over to Theo for only a moment before he shifts gears and drives away from Scott’s house.

Silence settles around them in the truck, the safety of shadows covering them only to be broken in sporadic bouts of street light streaming in through the windshield. It’s not a comfortable silence— it’s heavy with words neither of them knows how to say.

Liam clears his throat and Theo tenses, but nothing happens. The ride seems to drag on for hours and even though he was right on the precipice of sleep in Scott’s house, he suddenly feels wide awake.

They pull up to an unfamiliar house and Liam maneuvers Theo’s truck into the driveway next to a little blue Prius. It has a lacrosse Mom sticker on the back bumper and Theo makes the educated guess that this must be Liam’s house.

Liam puts the truck in park and then shuts it off but neither of them makes a move to get out. Liam’s fingers tap incessantly against the hard rubber of the steering wheel three times and then three more after that. It’s an odd beat, almost nervous.

“Thank you,” Liam says, his words soft and stilted. Theo’s taken aback by them, his head whipping to the side to look at Liam. Liam’s staring right back at him, his blue eyes earnest and dark. “You know, for saving my life and all that.”

“Yeah, and all that,” Theo murmurs for lack of a better thing to say. He’d never expected Liam to think him. He hadn’t expected any sort of acknowledgment at all. He thought that they would just use him like they had last time and then leave him alone in the dark without so much as a nod in his general direction.

Liam clears his throat and looks away, his eyes focusing on the lightening of the sky to his left. “We have a guest room.”

Theo doesn’t know what that has to do with him. “Good for you.”

“Good for—” Liam shoots him an irritated look. “I’m offering it to you to use, you dipshit.”

Theo wants to say thanks but instead what comes out is, “Why?”

“Because that’s what people do when other’s need help, Theo,” Liam tells him. “They actually help.”

“I know that,” Theo bites out. “I mean, why are you helping me?”

Liam shrugs, his eyes dropping down to the space between them. “Why did you help me?”

Theo doesn’t actually have an answer for that. Before, his answer would have been power, position, anything to benefit himself, but he doesn’t want those things anymore. Now, he just wants a soft place to sleep where no one wakes him up just to tell him he has to move.

“I don’t know,” Theo says honestly.

Liam’s eyes lift again to meet his and there’s something in them that Theo can’t define. “That’s why.”

Theo frowns. “You’re helping me because I don’t know why I helped you?”

_That doesn't make any sense._

“Yup,” Liam says popping the P obnoxiously before tugging on the handle of his door and throwing it open. “Now grab your things. I want a shower and thirty days of sleep and fuck knows you need it too. You smell like someone tried to barbeque you, dude. It's not a pleasant smell, I'm surprised I didn't pass out on the drive here from it."

“Fuck you,” Theo grumbles at Liam as the werewolf hops down from the truck and makes his way to the front door, his laughter carrying through the night. 

He doesn’t understand Liam at all, but he reaches for his duffle bag beneath the seat and follows the werewolf inside all the same. 

Maybe, he’ll get the chance to understand.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading


End file.
